Higher infection rate in cancer patients sparks investigation

The Saskatoon Health Region is investigating a jump in the number of lung infections among adult patients with leukemia and lymphoma.

The patients were treated in the oncology unit at Royal University Hospital over the past seven months, said Dr. Mark Bosch, clinical lead of hematology with the Saskatchewan Cancer Agency.

Such patients have weakened immunity to infection because of their illness and treatments, so it’s not unusual for the hospital to see up to 10 cases of lung infection in a six-month period, Bosch said.

He declined to say how many of the small group of patients at risk have contracted infections, but “it’s definitely more than we were seeing six months ago.”

“We don’t know what’s going on. There’s many different things that could be the cause of this,” Bosch said.

None of the patients have died, they are responding well to treatment for the infection and most have been discharged, he said.

The health region has notified six patients who are potentially at increased risk of lung infections.

The general public is not at risk from the common bacteria causing the infections, but media were notified to keep the community informed of the situation, said Diane Shendruk, director of the oncology unit.

Since learning of the problem earlier this week, the health region has tested for airborne contaminants, reviewed cleaning procedures and tracked where the patients went in the hospital, said Marcel Nobert, vicepresident of corporate services. Its probe will next look beyond the oncology unit for the source of the increase.

“WE DON’T KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON. THERE’S MANY DIFFERENT THINGS THAT COULD BE THE CAUSE OF THIS.”

DR. MARK BOSCH